Report: Cardinals interviewing Cooter for OC opening

The Arizona Cardinals are interviewing former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter for the same position on their staff, ESPN reported Tuesday.

New head coach Kliff Kingsbury will run his own offense and call plays in Arizona, but he said last week he would like to hire a coordinator with NFL experience.

Cooter, 34, had his three-plus-year tenure as the Lions' coordinator end earlier this month when the team declined to renew his contract. After joining Detroit as a quarterbacks coach in 2014, Cooter was promoted to interim offensive coordinator midway through 2015.

He helped Matthew Stafford have a career season in 2017, as the Lions finished seventh in points and 13th in yards that season. However, Detroit finished 25th in points and 24th in yards in 2018, more in line with its rankings in 2015 and 2016.

According to multiple reports, the Cardinals also interviewed John DeFilippo -- who has also interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars' opening -- for the job on Sunday.

Once considered a possible head-coaching candidate, DeFilippo was fired late in the season by the Minnesota Vikings amid the team's offensive struggles and head coach Mike Zimmer's demands to run the ball more.

DeFilippo, 40, also spent one year as a coordinator with the Cleveland Browns in 2015, and he was the Philadephia Eagles' quarterbacks coach from 2016-17, winning a Super Bowl last year.

The Cardinals reportedly offered former Atlanta Falcons coordinator Steve Sarkisian their job, but he is expected to return to the college ranks at Alabama on Nick Saban's staff.